"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
What do I do about the recent measles outbreak at Disneyland? Does it affect me in any way? I’m concerned as the news continues to report about it…..BSL MY RESPONSE: Measles is a highly contagious virus characterized by fever, rash, and often pneumonia. It has been virtually eliminated from the United States through widespread vaccination …
I’m a big fan of exercise and feel very strongly that it is the single most important effort you should make to stay healthy. A patient recently sent me this article on a study from the LIFE trial (Standing for Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders). In a study of over 1,500 patients, it showed …
Why would you give mice Prozac? Well……not to improve their moods. Have you ever seen a depressed mouse??? I didn’t think so. Researchers used Citalopram (a medication quite similar to Prozac as it is an SSRI….Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor) in mice to see if this reduced the production of Beta-Amyloid protein in their brains, as …
I always liked that saying about the canary. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good job being the canary, but the idea of a simple measure to assess a situation is a great idea, and the latest information on diabetic patients gives us just such information. Diabetic complications have fallen sharply over the past few decades, …
As most of you know, I am not a huge proponent of vitamins, based on concerns about the potential negatives they can cause, as well as the lack of evidence for their general effectiveness. That said, there are situations in which vitamins can be considered and here is a list of my current recommendations, with …
Read More “MY VITAMIN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS”
That simple admonition, best captures my sense of the ‘science’ of diet and how to eat properly for your health. There are advocates for every type of diet….low calorie, low fat, low sugar. All have their advocates and their detractors, and all have some supportive research as backing, but there will be NO definitive …
Below is a email from a patient touted his good health since beginning a stronger exercise regimen. He not only made the point that he felt better, but that he feels it prevents him from getting run-of-the mill infections, a particularly nice effect this time of year when the ‘cold season’ is heavy. He bolstered …
Read More “CAN EXERCISE PREVENT INFECTIONS….A PATIENT MAKES HIS CASE”
Physical activity is the #1 Key to health….just check out THE KEYS, and you’ll find it right there at the top. You can take inactivity to a new high (or should I say low), and be so inactive that you actually get SITTING DISEASE. We are sitting too much and this is making us …
With the progressive improvement in imaging studies, MRI and CAT scans, we are finding more and more ‘incidental’ abnormalities, and there is now a question of ‘what to do’ with such findings. Some might think that such incidental findings are good fortune to find by accident, so that we can treat the findings and prevent …
Read More “CAUTION ADVISABLE WHEN TREATING INCIDENTAL SCAN FINDINGS”
This weeks Sunday New York Times had a great article titled “Why Everyone Seems to Have Cancer” and the summary is….as we live longer and reduce the greatest killer of people, HEART DISEASE, Cancer comes to dominate as the major cause of death. The statistics clearly show reductions in premature death from heart disease and …
Acetominophen is the chemical name for Tylenol, and although safe in low and moderate doses, it can cause issues if taken to excess. The issues: Liver injury (even liver failure) and kidney disease. Due to unintended Tylenol overdose, the FDA is focusing a strong warning on products that contain Acetominophen as as ‘added’ medications in …
Vitamin D is riding high these days, as there have been many reports in the medical literature that low levels of Vitamin D are associated with everything from cancer to reduced longevity. As a result, supplementing Vitamin D has become all the rage, with patients actually developing Vitamin D overdose, as it is a fat …
Turns out that despite high calories, nuts appear to be a great health food. A recent NEJM study showed increased longevity in those who ate nuts daily, with a 30% reduction in heart disease and 11% in cancer. Nut eaters are also more slender than the rest of us….so not to worry about the extra …
The latest guidelines for cholesterol treatment have been changed once again, and this time in good direction. Rather than focusing on ‘goal numbers’ the the measure of success, the newest guidelines for cholesterol treatment take a more moderate approach, and focus on getting the ‘right’ people on medication and lowering their cholesterol effectively, if not …
I must admit to being a burger-junkie. How bad such burgers are for you is a matter of great discussion and certainly for those of us who have difficulty helping ourselves, it is cause for some consternation. To the rescue is the MAD COW CALCULATOR which provides a simple, and reassuring way to find out …